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WHY AND HOW?

Auditioning (Placement)/

Voicing/Seating Your Choir

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THE AUDITION

What do you want to find out?

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THE AUDITION

Often to determine placement into choir (barrier)

  • Assessment of the following skills:
  • Intonation
  • Vocal quality
  • Musicianship/reading ability
  • Vocal development/maturity
  • Demeanor of Singer
  • Leadership assessment
  • First point of access to building a relationship with director
  • Vocal Range
  • Vocal Timbre
  • Assign Singer to the Correct Choral Section

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HOW LONG? WHAT IS PROCESS?

7-10 min

  1. Introductions
  2. Allow them to choose their solo piece from several choices that demonstrate their range, tone quality, etc. I prefer My Country Tis of Thee or Amazing Grace- WHY?
  3. Provide them with words, ask them to sing melody
  4. Start in middle key, move up m3, then down a m3 
  5. Listen for passaggio issues and issues in extremities of range
  6. Listen for tone quality and where they are in their vocal development
  7. Aural Recall- Play various musical patterns/contours on the piano and ask them to sing them back
  8. Interval Identification: Ask students to identify intervals played on the piano
  9. Sight Reading: Begin with a hymn, ask them to sing a part either on solfege or neutral syllable. Repeat, with you singing a different choral part along with them. If they do well, move to excerpts of the repertoire that the ensemble will be singing.
  10. Thank them and indicate how and when they will be notified of the results

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VOICING THE CHOIR

  • Remember, when determining voice part, range is not the only consideration. You will also consider tessitura and timbre
  • Voicing can be done as part of the audition and is related to the vocal timbre of the singer
  • Voicing can also be done in smaller groups of singers, to compare voices and determine if voices sing well together in a blended fashion.
  • Generally voices are described as warm, bright, light, fullk, round, nasal, etc.
  • I prefer to categorize them as instruments “flute, reed, horn”
  • When voicing:
  • Be sure to use a piece that allows you to hear the voice in multiple registers to hear how the voice shifts through tessitura. 
  • Identify a voice that falls into each of the “instrument” categories and then add voices to each group to find matching voices.

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  • SAMPLE AUDITION FORM
  • UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO
  • CHOIRS AUDITION INFORMATION
  •  
  • Name:                                                                                                        Voice Part:                                            
  • Local Address:                                                                                       Phone:                                                    
  • Permanent Address:                                                                                                                                               
  • E-mail:                                                                                                      Bear number:                                         
  • Last Choir In Which You Sang:                                                               Director:                                               
  • UNC Major/Minor:                                                                                 Class:                                                    
  • Other major Ensembles For This Year:                                                                                                                 
  • Do You Play Piano? ___No ___Yes                                                         How Many Years? ______
  • Instruments Played ____________________    # Of Years? ______
  • What Choirs Are You Interested In Performing With? (Check All That Apply)
  •        ___Concert Choir (mwf 12:20-1:10)                      ___Chamber Choir (mwf 2:30-3:20)
  •         ___Women's  Glee Club (mwf 1:25-2:15)              ___Men's Glee Club (t th 12:30-1:45) 
  •          ___University Singers (t th 2:00-2:50)
  • On the back please list any additional music experience you have had!
  •  
  • *************************Auditioner’s Information (do not write here!)*********************
  •  
  •  

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*************************Auditioner’s Information (do not write here!)*********************

 

 

Tone:                                                               

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VOICING AND SEATING

  • Type of Ensemble
  • The particular piece you are singing
  • Where you are in the rehearsal phase (introductory/mid/final)
  • Strong/Weak singers
  • Vocal Timbre/voicing
  • Acoustical properties of rehearsal room or performance hall
  • Texture of the piece (homophonic  vs polyphonic)

 

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VOICING

HOW do we voice our choir?

  • One section at a time
  • Involve singers in process
  • Must be warmed up
  • Familiar tune
  • Various dnamic levels
  • Tune that includes a need to move through passaggio
  • (interval of a P4 or more allows for register shift)
  • My Country ‘Tis of Thee
  • Amazing Grace
  • O Music, Sweet Music (Lowell Mason)

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CONSIDERATIONS

  • Large vs Small Voices
  • Small to large 1,2,3,4,5, etc
  •  Large voices in the back, small voices in the front within section
  • Less-experienced/ Highly-Experienced
  • Sight reading
  • Interval recognition
  • Pitch matching
  • Holding a harmony part
  •  Vocal timbre considerations 

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VOICING- SOUND OPTIONS

Three categories of voices

  • Flute –light, lyric, fewer overtones, delicate
  • Reed- bright, forward, focused, many overtones
  • Horn- warm, round, strong
  • Vibrato?
    • Lack of focus/direction
    • Lack of support/ oversinging
  • I do not ask for no vibrato! Instead:
  • Minimize
  • Direct your tone
  • Listen / sing softer
  • Place tone in a higher register (head)
  • Take the weight off the tone
  • Sing like gliding over a smooth piece of ice

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WHAT IS VOICING YOUR CHOIR?�

  • Voicing the choir is getting to know the individual singers  with regard to tone quality. 
  • Through this process your goal is to:
  • Identifying similar voices/ different voices
  • Identifying strong/weak voices (strong/weak musicians)
  • Determine placement, seating
  • Attempt to create blend/unification (sync vs. “compete”)
  • Similar volume/Similar timbre/Similar vibrato

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NOW WHAT? HOW DO WE SEAT THEM?

Rehearsal Phase

Early

Middle 

Late 

Ability Level

Real World vs ideal world

IN a REAL World Seating

IN an IDEAL World Seating

“          The “Choir in Your Head”

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DETERMINING FACTORS�

  • Vocal Timbre (as determined by voicing)
  • Vocal confidence
  • Reading ability
  • Rehearsal Phase
  • Acoustical properties of rehearsal room or performance hall
  • Repertoire type
  • Voicing within Repertoire types
  • Difficulty of the Piece
  • Easy/difficult
  • Texture of the piece
  • (homophonic vs polyphonic) 

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SEATING- REHEARSAL

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  • Circular Seating
  • Generally used in rehearsal (if used in performance, MIX!)
  • Offers Mini-sectionals within larger context
  • Concentric circles/ Tuning
  • Circles: Unifying
  • Encourages leadership- circle leaders)
  • Circle seating progression:
  • Single section circles
  • Combined section rehearsals
  • Mixed section circles
  • Mixed/combined section circles
  • Full choir circle in sections
  • Full choir circles in modified mixed
  • Full choir circle fully mixed

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SEATING OPTIONS

/BENEFITS

Section Seating Benefits

  • Polyphonic
  • Seat in sections 
  • Homophonic with diatonic harmonies
  • Mix
  • Homophonic with dissonant harmonies, tone clusters, atonality
  • Mixed/modified mixed

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Mixed seating benefits

  • Breaks up walls of sound
  • Encourages listening
  • Encourages singer-independence
  • Encourages tuning
  • Encourages context
  • Encourages personal responsibility
  • Affirms personal confidence

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Modified Mixed

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YOUNGER SINGERS�I I I I I I    III III III III III   II II II II II �I I I I I I    III III III III III   II II II II II� I I I I I I    III III III III III   II II II II II� I I I I I I    III III III III III   II II II II II�

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FINAL THOUGHTS

  • Get out into the hall and listen or put someone out to listen
  • -Be Creative!
  • -Be Adventurous!
  • -Be willing to make mistakes!
  • -Solicit feedback from singers 
  • Trust YOUR instincts

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